Coffee shop in Washington state draws backlash after kicking out messy kids, moms

Cafe owner Lorraine 'Rainy' MacDuff promises to serve 'cupfuls of attitude' at her Lake Stevens, Wash., cafe. But she learned a harsh lesson about sarcasm and Facebook when she posted a photo criticizing a group of military wives whose children left a mess. (Komonews)

A coffee shop owner in Washington state is cleaning up her act after her crumby Facebook post went viral.

Lorraine "Rainy" MacDuff, the big-mouthed owner of Lake Stevens' Rainy Days Caffe, isn't afraid to tell it like it is. When a group of squealing kids left a big mess of crumbs on her recently steam-cleaned carpet, MacDuff marched up to their table and kicked the moms and their children to the curb.

Advertisement

She reportedly banned the mothers from bringing their kids inside her shop again.

But the squabble didn't end there.

MacDuff posted a photo of the messy floor to Facebook on Friday, writing, "Like to take a moment to thank our customers with small children whose kids don't make a mess. A couple of ladies came in today and this is the mess their children made."

One of the offended moms, Kellea Poore, shared the post with her friends. Within a few hours, a storm of both outrage and support flooded Rainy Day Caffe's Facebook page.

Some Facebook users supported MacDuff's actions, saying she has a right to make the rules in her own cafe.

MacDuff posted this photo to Facebook, writing, 'Like to take a moment to thank our customers with small children whose kids don't make a mess. A couple of ladies came in today and this is the mess their children made.' The shop owner later deleted the image. (Komonews)

"Too often parents allow their children to trash businesses and shirk their responsibilities as parents off, dumping their mess on cafes and businesses, just because they can get away with it," a user wrote.

Others are rooting for Poore, a military mom who says she has no choice but to bring her kids everywhere she goes.

"Cleaning up after customers is actually a part of your business, not the customer's duty," one Facebook user wrote.

The feisty shop owner later deleted the picture and posted an apology. She claims that the post was meant to be sarcastic.

"It was supposed to be snarky," MacDuff says, "If I wanted to humiliate them I would have taken their picture."

"It's a half apology," said Poore. "Because it's not apologizing for her behavior in the store, and that was the most humiliating part, to be berated by someone who owns the shop, and you just paid money to buy their product."

Facebook users pelted Rainy Days Caffe’s Facebook page with comments — negative and positive. MacDuff says children are always welcome in her shop as long as they are respectful. (rainydayscaffe/via Facebook)

But MacDuff claims she didn't know Poore was a military mom. That news would have given them something to talk about — MacDuff's husband is a Gulf War veteran. The shop owner also says that kids are always welcome in her store, as long as they are respectful. She claims that Poore's three-year-old son was making a big fuss inside her restaurant.

Advertisement

"He was screaming the whole time," MacDuff said.

She told King 5 that she sponsors several local youth sports teams. She's also used the fallout from the Facebook post to raise money for local kids' back to school supplies.

"I know a lot of people think I should be like 'I'm so sorry' but that's probably not going to happen," MacDuff told King5. "We love kids and it's not a matter of not liking kids, again, it's about executing my right to refuse service to anybody."

And if messy, screaming little customers come into her shop again, MacDuff says she has no qualms about showing them the door.

"I won't be posting pictures about it. But it probably won't be the last time," MacDuff told KOMO News.